Sundowns’ Cardoso faces selection headache for Arrows test after Mudau injury

'We got a severe injury to Khuliso Mudau and he will be out for a long time,' the Portuguese revealed. Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has doubled down on his call to reinforce the squad before the transfer window closes next month, after a serious injury to Khuliso Mudau. Sundowns’ Cardoso – ‘We will evaluate until the end of the market’ Cardoso faces a selection dilemma ahead of the first leg of the MTN8 semifinal against Golden Arrows at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday. Mudau is set to be sidelined for months after suffering a suspected Achilles rupture in the 2-0 win over Marumo Gallants at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday. He joins Keanu Cupido and Arthur Sales, who are long-term casualties, while Teboho Mokoena and Antonio Van Wyk are also carrying niggling injuries. Cardoso had recently revealed his desire to bolster his squad before the local transfer window closes on 22 September, but his latest comments suggest the club won’t be making any additions. “The things that the coach thinks about in certain moments is a development process of an idea,” he said. “When we settled on the team, we knew that there would be things that could happen. We also knew that let’s give ourselves seven to 10 matches to see if we could do it or not. We will evaluate until the end of the market and see what will happen, I don’t know, there’s no predicting. “If you ask any coach, they would like to have the best players in the world. I have some of the best players in South Africa and we have to work to develop players too. I hope by late October, we can receive back reinforcements like Keanu Cupido and Arthur Sales.” Cardoso painted a bleak picture of Mudau’s injury after the right-back was stretchered off against Gallants. This spells bad news for Masandawana and Bafana Bafana, who depend on the marauding full-back. ‘He will be out for a long time’ “Unfortunately, we got a severe injury to Khuliso Mudau and he will be out for a long time,” the Portuguese revealed. “It’s an Achilles rupture and he will see a specialist so that we can start the recovery process. It was an action where he was alone, there was no contact or tackle by an opponent. It happens and sometimes in football injuries like this happen.” Despite the injury setbacks, the Brazilians remain favourites to get past Arrows in the MTN8. However, the KwaZulu-Natal side cannot be taken lightly. They have already shown they are capable of causing an upset after knocking Kaizer Chiefs out of the MTN8 to book their place in the last four.